the purge in turkey

[solarbird]

Erdogan's purge in Turkey is getting really heavy. He's talking about re-instituting the death penalty (which would absolutely end any hope for getting into the EU) - and now he's being threatned with suspension from NATO:

Tens of thousands of military officials, police, judges, governors and civil servants have been fired, detained or put under scrutiny — accused of having links to Fethullah Gulen, a cleric living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, who Turkey accuses of being behind the plot.

And it includes, in today's example, every dean in higher education.

This really gave Erdogan's paranoia the rocket-shot it needed(?) to go full-on authoritarian.

Comments

[conuly]

So I take it you don't believe the false flag conspiracy theories, that he's the one who did it all?

[solarbird]

I have no idea one way or the other. However, I tend to wait for evidence before considering theories. Something being possible is not evidence that something happened.

[alatefeline]

I am RAGING about the targeting of higher education. I can't even process most of the rest of the news. This is devolving into dictatorship...

[vatine]

On the one hand, Turkey has (from my understanding) a tradition of that sort of thing. On the other hand, Erdogan (again, from my understanding) is actually a new player, so it's not blatantly obvious that this is orchestrated.

Then there's the fact that we have no evidence, either way.

And based on what I've seen in reports of what the now rather failed coup was proclaiming, I'd say that Erdogan would not have used that as a line of argument, out of sheer fear of having a party representing these kinds of values pop up and steal the next election, by showing that there's support for it.

[solarbird]

I know the feeling. :/